2013 Junior World Figure Skating Championships: Pairs Short Reports

Disclaimer: The GOE values listed next to the elements are the ones, I'd award if I was a judge, to give you a general impression of how well it was executed. I try to describe each of the elements but there's not always time to be as detailed as I would like and those numbers can sometimes say a thousand words. So if you see positive GOE, it means an element was executed to a high standard (and yes, I am generally being very nitpicky ).

2twist – high and clean [1]
2axel – his was messy in the air and a little shaky on the landing, hers clean [-1]
throw 3salchow – good height, solid landing with nice extension [1]
shoot-the-duck into bods – position a little weak [-1]
press lift to change of position and one hand hold to difficult dismount – strong [1]
straight line step sequence [0]
flying camel/sit/change sit broken leg/up – well synchronised [1]

Their basics aren't very strong. Postures and lines could be extended better and edges were quite scratchy.

They skated through the music looking cautious and tentative. I imagine they probably either nervous or focusing on their elements but the performance aspect was really lacking. They need more confidence and attack.

2axel – quite far apart but soft and solid landings [1]
dance lift to 2twist with arms above – not a lot of height but clean and quite effortless [1]
throw 3salchow – not a lot of height, landing a little scratchy [0]
press lift to one hand hold and dismount and reverse rotation – strong, decent extensions from her but he two-footed the landing [0]
mirrored straight line step sequence into hold – quite sharp footwork, good upper body movement [1]
flying camel/sit/up L/change sit broken leg – off-synch from the second position until the end [-2]
Y spiral into bods [0]

Decent basics and choreography. They could have shown a little more attack but they showed quite clean lines and skated to the music quite well.

Lots of potential here. She is a diva in the making. Exudes confidence and you just can't take your eyes off her. A very strong skater for a 13-year old (she was also a silver medallist in Junior Ladies at German Nationals).

I am very surprised they aren't representing Belgium, though. Blommaert is Belgian and he represented it internationally in singles. There are no Belgian pair teams at present so they would be guaranteed to be able to enter any competition they wanted, if they represented that country instead of Germany.

2twist with arms above – very high and solid [2]
2axel – he seemed to have landed it ok but was too deep on the outside edge, caught the toe-pick and fell [-3]
throw 3salchow – solid [1]
spread eagle and shoot-the-duck into bods with change of hold [1]
press lift to one hand hold and dismount – solid [1]
straight line step sequence first in hold and then mirrored [0]
flying camel/sit/up/change sit cannonball [1] – very well synchronised, decent rotation speed

Quite good speed throughout but the program lacked character. They skated to the music well during the step sequence, reflecting the bluesy character of the track with their soft movements but prior to that, they have mostly skated from one element into another.

Their pair elements are very impressive, however and they skate with a lot of power. Some polishing work is needed now. Stronger choreography, more attention paid to extending their movements and presenting their programs. But they definitely have a lot of potential.

press lift to change of position and one hand to difficult dismount – laboured change of position, her extensions lacking [-1]
2axel – weak, over the toe landing from him [-1]
throw 3salchow – decent height but not a lot of flow out [0]
dance lift to 2twist with arms above – high but not the most elegant catch and a two-footed landing from him [0]
Y spiral to bods – weak edge, position not very good [-1]
straight line step sequence – quite slow, weak edges [-1]
flying camel/up Y/change sit cannonball/up [-2] – he lost balance getting into the Y position, travelled a lot and barely stayed upright, then travelled again going into cannonball (was lucky not to crash into her)

They skated through the music most of the time with blank and disinterested facial expressions. There was one point where they did some 'tribal' movements to the music whilst standing still and they looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but there. It was quite excrutiating.

2twist – not a lot of height, slight crash (she landed on his shoulder) [-1]
2axel – quite far apart [0]
Y spiral to bods with change of hold [0]
press lift to change of position and one hand to difficult dismount – heavy and laboured, his shoulders didn't seem locked properly [-1]
transitions to throw 3salchow – clean but didn't get a lot of height [0]
straight line step sequence in hold and then mirrored – quite good flow [1]
camel/sit/up L/change sit holding foot(positions not matching)/up – well synchronised, quite good rotation speed [1]

An elegant, classical routine. Good postures and lines and a decent flow throughout. A well choreographed, simple but effective program.

There is very little height difference between them. Given how their twist, throw and lift looked, it's evidently making some of their pair elements very difficult to execute and I am not sure how much of a future they have as a result. It's a real shame because they have good chemistry and look well together. Whilst such height difference would be appropriate for a dance team, it just isn't enough to be competitive in pairs at the senior level.

Decent basic skating and speed. Quite good postures and lines and a fair amount of attack. The program could have used more character, however. You'd never guess it was a Flamenco if the music was off. Something simple like the hand/wrist movements would make a big difference.

They are another team which is really close in height and it was showing on the twist and the lift. It will be very hard for them to transition into the seniors.

2axel – solid [1]
steps to 2twist with arms above – very high [2]
transitions towards throw 3salchow – a lot of height, could use a little more control in the air and speed on the landing, though [1]
press lift to change of position and one hand hold to difficult dismount [1]
Y spiral to bods [0]
straight line step sequence – could use some more speed [0]
flying camel/up L/change sit holding foot(went a little off-synch) [0]

Very strong elements and their program was quite well choreographed, featuring some interesting transitions and a fair amount of arm movements throughout.

Unfortunately, they just seemed to be going through the motions. They need to work on their performance skills and show more attack and conviction in executing all of their movements as well as some emotions (they skated with blank facial expression). Some more speed and power in their skating would be good as well.

They seem to be following the usual Chinese pair development route of working on the technical elements first and developing their presentation later (hopefully). There's a lot of potential here.

2twist – very high and solid but his free foot was a little late coming out [1]
throw 3salchow – off-axis in the air and not a lot of height, I was sure she would fall but the landing was very solid [0]
2axel – could use more flow out [0]
camel/sit/up raised knee/change sit/up var – well synchronised [1]
press lift to change of position and one hand hold to difficult dismount – quite strong but two-footed [0]
Y spiral to bods – good rotation speed [1]
straight line step sequence – good attack [1]

Quite good basics and a lot of speed. The program could use more character, however. A lot of the time they were just stroking from one element into another.

Impressive technical elements, however. They seem to have a lot of potential.

footwork to 2twist – high [1]
throw 3salchow – decent height but a scratchy landing [0]
steps towards 2flip [1] – solid landings, there were steps coming out of the jump as well
press lift to change of position and one hand hold and dismount – two-footed, took them quite a long time to get to one hand [-1]
bods – weak position, entry quite tentative [-1]
flying camel/sit/up/change sit broken leg(went a little off-synch) – could use some more speed [-1]
straight line step sequence – could use more speed and attack [-1]

The music had a very strong beat and a fair amount of highlights as well. It's a shame they mostly skated through it and didn't make better use of it. More attack would have been nice too see as well.

cantilevers towards 2twist – absolutely unebelievable height [3]
throw 3salchow – huge but she didn't have a lot of balance on the landing and eventually fell [-3]
2axel – far apart, her landing not very strong [0]
press lift to one hand to change of position to one hand to difficult dismount – strong [1]
bods – very good rotation speed [1]
straight line step sequence [0]
camel/sit/up biellmann/change camel upward catch – well synchronised, good positions [1]

Incredible height on twist and throw and an easy lift but other elements weren't as impressive. The program was generic and their movements not extended or finished very well. Surprisingly little polish for a Russian team.

Looking at the ISU bios, it lists Purdy as 166 cm (5ft 6in) and Marinaro as 182 cm (slightly less than 6ft 1in). I don't even see that much height difference, truth be told, but she's extremely tall for a pairs girl, isn't she? That said, I think they have my favourite juniors pair program - very mature presentation. Disappointing that they probably won't transition to seniors effectively, but they're my favourite here. Yu/Jin are quite good as well.